1. Field of Invention
Aspects of the invention can relate to a method of forming a film, a method of manufacturing a device, and an electro-optical apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
A patterning method that makes use of a related art inkjet method includes directly applying a liquid material containing a fine particle dispersed in it as a pattern onto a substrate by inkjet method, and then converting the applied liquid material into a conductive film pattern by subsequent thermal treatment and/or applying laser, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,248. Putting this related art method into practice enables pattern forming without using photolithography technique, and also makes it possible to simplify the pattern forming process. Furthermore, this method can have an advantage of lessening the amount of raw material to be used.
Moreover, as a patterning method by making use of a related art ink-jet method there is another method, in which a position of a droplet to be ejected is controlled by placement of a bank onto a substrate in order to improve pattern forming accuracy, as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-75205. If, once the bank is formed, there is no chance that the droplet ejected onto the substrate goes over the bank. As a result, for example, a film pattern of about 30 microns in width can be formed with positioning accuracy of about 1 micron.
In addition to the related art patterning methods described above, there is also another method proposed, in which a liquid material is selectively applied only onto a liquid-affinitive part of a substrate on which a pattern of a liquid-repellent or liquid-affinitive part has been formed with an organic molecular film, and then the applied liquid material is converted into a conductive film pattern by subsequent thermal treatment. According to this method, the conductive film pattern can be formed with good accuracy through a simple process.